February 28th, 2007

John McCain to David Letterman: I announce!

Posted by Donna Bogatin @ 8:21 pm

Categories: Government, Political Campaign, Politics, Presidential Race, TV, Television, User Generated Politics

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Edition number 27 in this Digital Markets Blog presidential campaign 2008 series on what I am calling “User Generated Politics”

John McCain today announced he will be announcing that he will be a candidate for President of the United States, and he chose the "Late Show with David Letterman" to formally make the informal pre-announcement.

McCain unveiled his intentions in an elaborately pre-planned "User Generated Politics" style multi-step scenario.

Before appearing on the Letterman show, McCain posted his Letterman announcement plans at his campaign Website, as part of his online campaign contribution form:

Tonight, I will be appearing on the Late Show with David Letterman on CBS. During this broadcast, I am going to announce that I will be a candidate for President of the United States. You have been one of my closest and most loyal supporters and I wanted you to know first. Please take a moment to fill out this form to make a generous donation to my campaign!

The McCain appearance on Letterman was pre-taped for a scheduled broadcast at 11:30pm eastern time.

Before the Letterman show aired, McCain posted a video clip of his pre-taped Letterman appearance at his campaign Website, along side his online contribution form.

This is the McCain-Letterman exchange:

Letterman: Are you running?

McCain: The last time we were on this program, you asked me if I would come back on this show if I was going to announce. I am announcing that I will be a candidate for President of the United States.

Letterman: Wow. What were the factors leading to this decision?

McCain: I wanted to be on this show…I will be making a formal announcement in April. You don't just have one rendition. This is the announcement preceeding the announcement.

Letterman: This is not the formal announcement. How do you think that makes me feel?

McCain: You were the first.

Paul Shaffer: He's doing the formal announcement on Leno.

McCain is no stranger to pre-announcements. He has already pre-announced his McCain Space Social Network! SEE John McCain announces McCain Space! Republican ‘User Generated Politics’ 

STAY TUNED TO THIS DIGITAL MARKETS BLOG FOR CONTINUING COVERAGE OF WHAT I AM CALLING “USER GENERATED POLITICS” 2008

More in this Digital Markets Special Series:
John Edwards NOT Social Networking for ‘User Generated Politics’
John McCain announces McCain Space! Republican ‘User Generated Politics’ 
Oprah Winfrey embraces Barack Obama: Can she drive votes?
Barack Obama million dollar star in Hollywood
Hillary Clinton trumps Barack Obama, on eBay!

February 28th, 2007

Google Search: How high can market share grow?

Posted by Donna Bogatin @ 3:09 pm

Categories: Google, Google Software Applications, Metrics, Search

Tags:

The January 2007 search engine share stats are in. 

Top Search Providers, Ranked by Searches (U.S.), Nielsen/NetRatings:
                               
Google Search: 53.7%
Yahoo! Search: 22.7%
MSN/Windows Live Search: 8.9%
AOL Search: 5.4%
Ask.com Search: 1.8%

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ALSO: Google: Hollywood vs. YouTube video games

February 28th, 2007

Google, CBS drama takes new video turn

Posted by Donna Bogatin @ 1:56 pm

Categories: Advertising, Culture, Google, Marketing, Media, TV, Television, Video, YouTube

Tags:

ALSO:  "Google: Hollywood vs. YouTube video games”

Google Inc. is closing in on the ten year anniversary of its founding. 

As Google matures, it experiences new business life cycle impacts. For example, Google must not only aggressively hire to meet its growth needs, it also faces the risk of losing key personnel to competitors and other constituencies. 

Case in point today: CBS Interactive has recruited a top Google exec, Patrick Keane.

Keane has been named Executive Vice President, Chief Marketing Officer at CBS Interactive. He leaves his position of Head of Advertising Sales Strategy at Google. 

Keane’s role at CBS Interactive is described as “implementing systems to market and sell its content on a growing variety of emerging media platforms and expanding the CBS roster of advertisers.”

Specifically, Keane must help CBS “monetize new inventory generated by next-generation platforms.” 

Next generation platform for CBS content? The YouTube platform perhaps?

The tables have more than turned for Keane-CBS-YouTube-Google, in many ways!

A Google search led me to a 1999 remark made by Keane while serving as Vice President, Jupiter: 

'SportsLine very quickly has proven the value of TV promotion in building a Web media business,'' says Patrick Keane, who tracks sports Web sites for Jupiter Communications. But staid CBS–''the TV network of the nearly dead,'' notes Keane–has delivered a certain kind of audience for SportsLine. Its visitors are slightly older and less affluent than ESPN.com users, according to NetRatings Inc., which in its latest survey shows free-spending Gen Xers (ages 25 to 34) accounting for 34% of ESPN.com's audience, compared with 22% for SportsLine. 

Keane’s 1999 commentary presents two key ironies: 

1) Keane has been recruited by Quincy Smith, President, CBS Interactive to become a key executive of the network Keane deemed to be “the TV network of the nearly dead.”

2) Keane touted the “value of TV promotion in building a Web media business,'' while at Jupiter, but while at Google he helped spread an opposite gospel, preaching the value of YouTube promotion in building a TV network business.

In “Google: Hollywood vs. YouTube video games” this morning I recounted the CBS-Google-YouTube drama pitting the purported promotional value of YouTube against TV network monetization requirements and copyright protection demands. 

Keane must do an about face in his new role at CBS.

As a Google exec, he towed the YouTube barter economy line. His responsibilities at CBS, however, are clearly to drive monetization.

The online video games continue, big time!   

February 28th, 2007

Social money on your cell: Citi mobilizes financial transactions

Posted by Donna Bogatin @ 11:02 am

Categories: Business Models, Cell Phones, Culture, Local, Mobile, Social Software, Software, VC, Venture Capital, Wireless, ecommerce

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Do you want to Obopay? 

The mobile person-to-person payment service platform is betting you do, touting a “fast and easy way to make payments using mobile phones.” 

Citigroup also believes in the potential of Obopay’s “Social Money” solution. Citi financial services company is gearing up to launch a Obopay-powered real-time, person-to-person mobile payments service for Citi credit and debit card customers to: 

Easily and securely send and receive money instantly via any mobile phone. Remotely track and manage mobile payment accounts by checking balances, viewing payment histories, and adding funds directly from their mobile phone. Funds received via the Citi-Obopay Mobile Person-to-Person service can also be accessed with a debit card provided with the service. 

Carol Realini, Obopay Founder and CEO:

We are making it easier for consumers to instantly send, spend and get cash when its needed most.

"Get Money, Send Money, Spend Money" are the mottos of Obopay, all via any mobile phone, the fun and social way!

Realini underscores Obopay is not just about enabling access to money on the go, it is about empowering “social money” experiences: 

For a society that pays so much for convenience, it’s ironic how inconvenient money itself has become. We’re making money convenient again with new social money services.

Obopay describes “social money” as the money that passes between people when they engage in shared consumer experiences, such as: 

Roomates spliting living expenses (rent, utilities…)
Travelers sharing a hotel room,
Co-workers pooling money for an office gift
Friends dining together… 

Obopay believes that as friends, family and co-workers do more things together, there can be confusion and conflict over who owes what. Obopay to the resuce: “Obopay’s social money services remove the tension.”

How? Obopay promises “All you need is a mobile phone and your friend’s mobile phone number, Whether you choose to use Obopay via text messaging, your phone's Internet browser or download Obopay onto your phone.” Obopay also promises a $5 prepaid MasterCard start-up bonus.

HOW OBOPAY WORKS 

Obay uses a prepaid debit model in which users add money to their Obopay accounts in advance of purchases. Money may be added to an Obopay account through: Obopay merchant locations, Interactive Voice Response, Obopay website (obopay.com), and customer service representative. Account holders then have access to these funds through their mobile phones to make and receive payments, and check account activity. As a software solution, Obopay only requires users to have a mobile phone and Obopay account. There is no additional hardware or Internet access required. 

An Obopay account is created through the Website or customer service center. One registered, a unique PIN is given to the user to verify all transactions. Upon registering, the account holder enters their mobile phone number to have the Obopay Mobile Application pushed to their phone. Once installed, they can begin using Obopay for their financial transactions. 

To users, Obopay transactions are seamless. They simply send a message from their mobile phones to the Obopay server using the application. The server validates the transaction and transfers the funds or responds to the user’s request for account information. 

An Obopay account holder can send money to any SMS-enabled handset user, even if they do not have the Obopay application or an Obopay account. The recipient will get a text message indicating that funds have been transferred in their name. To get access to these funds, the recipient will need to register their own Obopay account. Minimal transactions fees apply.

OBOPAY TECHNOLOGY 

The Obopay Mobile Application is based on the Java 2 Platform, Enterprise Edition (J2EE). Development plans include support for every protocol and every phone operating system. 

The Obopay system incorporates security, communication, ledger, currency, fraud, reporting and administration. Incoming and outgoing transaction requests are processed by HTTP or Web Services commands. 

OBOPAY FUNDING

Qualcomm is an Obopay strategic partner. Obopay also garnered $10 million in Series A funding a year ago from Redpoint Ventures, Onset Ventures and Richmond Capital, undoubtedly not delivered “social money” style, however.

ALSO: Mobile social network on a VC shoestring: Exclusive Trilibis CEO interview

February 28th, 2007

Google: Hollywood vs. YouTube video games

Posted by Donna Bogatin @ 7:08 am

Categories: Advertising, Amateur Content, Movies, Social Media, Social Networking, Social Web, TV, Television, User-Generated Content, Video, Web 2.0, YouTube

Tags:

Will the Google-YouTube-Copyright Holders video game ever end?

Web surfers will no longer be reliving the magic moments of the 2007 Oscars via YouTube. The vid-viewing site complied with a Tuesday request from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences to remove all unauthorized clips, Variety stated yesterday.

I just relived the not-so-magic of Ellen DeGeneres’ opening monologue, though.

Ric Robertson, Administrator, Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences, said the organization had its content pulled "to help manage the value of our telecast and our (Oscars) brand."

Really? Oscars footage abounds on YouTube.

Both Google and copyright holders continue to play the YouTube video game.

In “Google’s fuzzy YouTube logic” last November, I rebuked one of the first public statements released from the Google owned YouTube, an amalgam of YouTuber viewing stats on CBS owned content headlined “After one month, CBS content among most viewed videos on YouTube, Nearly 30 Million Views Since Partnership Began Oct. 18.”

I said of the YouTube-CBS purported love fest at the time:

Google, YouTube and CBS are currently hanging their video hats on warm and fuzzy “beliefs,” not on hard, trackable conversion metrics. Believing that YouTube “works” brings to mind the “old school” advertising maxim: "I know that half my advertising works - I just don't know which half."”

Google will need to show content owners harder ROI metrics than “beliefs” in order to maximize its own ROI on the $1.65 billion YouTube. 

My analysis of Google’s YouTube stance with CBS last November was reinforced by Wall Street Journal reports last week of tension between CBS-Google-YouTube: “CBS talks go off track.” 

Google’s fuzzy logic on the copyright content protection front is also being called into question by the media companies that own the video content YouTubers want, SEE "Universal Music vs. MySpace, Grouper, Bolt, YouTube?"

Google positions itself as the premier technology company in the world. In terms of market cap Google is number two, only surpassed by Microsoft. 

Nevertheless, Google CEO Eric Schmidt declares “putting the (YouTube fingerprinting) technology to use is a hard problem.” 

Despite Google’s acknowledgement that it is not preventing YouTube uploads of unauthorized copyright video content, it continues to announce content deals touting a YouTube “Claim Your Content” identification and reporting system, as I reported Monday in “YouTube scores NBA deal.”

I recently underscored “Viacom to Google: We’re NOT bluffing!” 

Maybe not bluffing, but not taking decisive action either.

ALSO: Can Google crack $74 billion TV ad market? and Web 2.0: Does ‘old media’ get it?

February 28th, 2007

Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama to march (almost) together

Posted by Donna Bogatin @ 5:47 am

Categories: Barack Obama, Government, Hillary Clinton, Local, Marketing, Political Campaign, Politics, President Clinton, Presidential Race, Self-Promotion, User Generated Politics

Tags:

Edition number 26 in this Digital Markets Blog presidential campaign 2008 series on what I am calling “User Generated Politics”

Will a Democratic “dream team” 2008 presidential ticket of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama (or vice versa) come to pass?

The principal Clinton-Obama fireworks to date have been more the political name calling kind (see "Bill Clinton million dollar email campaign for Hillary").

Clinton and Obama may be putting their rivalries aside on Sunday, however, in the name of civil rights, political goodwill and positive "User Generated Politics".

Both Clinton and Obama are slated to paricipate with Alabamans in the Bridge Crossing Jubilee, an annual commemoration of the 1965 Selma-to-Montgomery voting rights march in Alabama.

Whether Clinton and Obama will march side by side is unknown, what is known, however, is that each will be speaking simultaneously before the march, addressing different audiences before the main event.

Clinton is scheduled to address a service at First Baptist Church and to represent President Bill Clinton, at his induction into the National Voting Rights Museum's Hall of Fame. Obama is scheduled to address a service at Brown Chapel A.M.E. Church, the starting point for the historic march 42 years ago.

WILL CLINTON AND OBAMA MARCH TOGETHER IN 2008?

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STAY TUNED TO THIS DIGITAL MARKETS BLOG FOR CONTINUING COVERAGE OF WHAT I AM CALLING “USER GENERATED POLITICS” 2008

More in this Digital Markets Special Series:
John Edwards NOT Social Networking for ‘User Generated Politics’
John McCain announces McCain Space! Republican ‘User Generated Politics’ 
Oprah Winfrey embraces Barack Obama: Can she drive votes?
Barack Obama million dollar star in Hollywood
Hillary Clinton trumps Barack Obama, on eBay!

February 27th, 2007

Microsoft trumps Google in Intuit QuickBooks

Posted by Donna Bogatin @ 9:20 pm

Categories: Business Models, Enterprise, Gmail, Google, Google Apps, Google Software Applications, Local, Marketing, ecommerce

Tags:

Almost six months ago, Steve Bennett, CEO, Intuit, sang the praises of Google “integration” into QuickBooks 2007, as of Q3 2006:

Intuit is committed to partnering with best-in-class companies to help solve important customer problems. By partnering with a leading company like Google, we bring together Intuit's strength in creating easy-to-use solutions with Google's Web expertise to offer leading-edge online services to help small businesses attract new customers.

Last week Bennett reported F2Q07 earnings to Wall Street, touting “Intuit delivered another solid quarter with revenue and non-GAAP EPS above the high-end of our guidance range.” No thanks to Google, apparently.

The Intuit-Google “best-in-class” partnership was not mentioned in Bennett’s prepared remarks designed to present the factors responsible for the Inutit “solid” performance and to outline ‘how Intuit will continue to grow.”

Asked by an analyst about the Intuit-Google alliance which had been deemed by the companies to forge “Two companies, one powerful solution,” Bennett only offered:

I would tell you its still early and we haven't seen a huge lift on that yet.

Upon the alliance announcement last September, in “Google QuickBooks 2007: Death of Yellow Pages, local newspapers?” I put forth:

Google and Intuit would like us to conclude from their numbers that upon the release of QuickBooks 2007 this Fall, Google will be on its quick and sure way to adding millions of small business customers to its AdWords conquests, displacing traditional small business advertising vehicles such as the Yellow Pages, local newspapers…

Not so fast, I concluded, literally.

What’s more, Google’s new productivity application nemesis Microsoft, is enjoying favored status within QuickBooks, but not Google Apps.

Share data with Microsoft Office, QuickBooks 2007 proclaims:

QuickBooks breaks the language barriers between your favorite applications, so you can share data seamlessly instead of tediously copying or retyping it.

Avoid redundant data entry with easy synchronization with Outlook
Simply download the QuickBooks Contact Sync tool from our website and a "synchronize" icon will be added to your Outlook toolbar. Just click once on this icon whenever you want to sync customer, vendor or job information between QuickBooks and Outlook.

Transfer data to and from Microsoft Excel
Quickly pull information such as large groups of customers, vendors, and inventory items into QuickBooks. Or use your company data from your QuickBooks reports and export it to new or existing Excel spreadsheets with all Excel formulas and formatting intact.

Merge QuickBooks data with Microsoft Word
QuickBooks comes with a variety of customer and vendor letters that you can create using Microsoft Word that merge information from QuickBooks, such as customer name, address, and current balance. Select a group of customers or vendors in QuickBooks, choose a template, and QuickBooks merges the data to create a letter in Word.

In “Google vs. Microsoft: David and Goliath?” last week I underscored that Google Apps Premier is the underdog in a Google Office vs. Microsoft Office battle.

February 27th, 2007

Google SERP favors Google Checkout

Posted by Donna Bogatin @ 6:02 pm

Categories: Google, Google Checkout, Google Software Applications, Marketing, Self-Promotion, ecommerce

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Google continues to find new ways to make sure Google searchers can't ignore the Google Checkout merchants Google is subsidizing through 2007 (maybe even 2008!).

In "Google Checkout: Where’s the love?" and “Google Checkout is a loser, really” I discuss the difficulties Google is having in gaining significant traction with merchants and the negative financial impact of merchant and consumer subsidies on Google's financial performance.

Google nevertheless perseveres, with both subsidies and prime Google Checkout placement in Google SERPs.

Google has already promised to cover the costs of credit card processing on behalf of Google Checkout merchant Checkout transactions through 2007. Will Google continue the costly largesse through 2008? Google's own Google AdSense "Ads by Goooooogle" say so!

Google is not only exploiting is AdSense network to "sell" Google Checkout, it is preempting the "most relevant" Google search results to favor its own Google Checkout above the "organic" Google SERPs.

In product searches, Google is driving searchers to Google Checkout clients at Froogle, as shown below. A Google self-promo for Google Checkout merchants selling "Microsoft Office 2007 Standard" points searchers to Checkout merchants in Google's Froogle listings, before Google's "most relevant" search results.

Google is doing everything in its power to increase Checkout adoption, except for the one thing that would truly make a difference, a change in the fundamentally flawed Google Checkout philosophy, SEE "Google Checkout: $20 million AdWords pitch."

February 27th, 2007

Google: Official security strategy for Google Apps

Posted by Donna Bogatin @ 1:45 pm

Categories: Gmail, Google, Google Apps, Google Software Applications, Privacy

Tags:

What is Google doing to ensure Google Apps Premier is reliable to enterprise standards? 

I underscored last week the importance of reliability, security and privacy to the success of Google’s new Apps for Enterprise (and for a fee) offering, SEE Google Apps data risks: Security vs. privacy and Google Gmail SLA guarantee? 

Since the launch of Google Apps Premier I have contacted Google to learn more about how the company aims to qualm prospective enterprise fears about hosting mission critical data in the Google Cloud.

Below are highlights of the Official Google position on the security of Google Apps. 

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The foundation of Google’s security strategy starts with its people and processes. Security is a combination of people and processes and technology, that when put together properly lead to safe and responsible computing. Security is designed into products, architecture, infrastructure and systems from the onset.

The same infrastructure used to host Google Apps and secure hundreds of thousands of users’ data is also used to manage millions of consumers’ data and billions of dollars in advertising transactions. 

The Google “security strategy” utilizes numerous physical, logical and operational security measures to ensure the utmost in data security and privacy. Google operates one the world’s largest networks of distributed datacenters in the world and goes to great lengths to protect the data and intellectual property in these centers.

PHYSICAL SECURITY

Google operates datacenters worldwide, and many Google datacenters are wholly owned and managed ensuring that no outside parties can gain access. The geographic locations of the datacenters were chosen to give protection against catastrophic events. Only select Google employees have access to the datacenter facilities and the servers contained therein, and this access is tightly controlled and audited. Security is monitored and controlled both locally at the site, and centrally at Google’s worldwide security operations centers.

The facilities themselves are engineered not only for maximum efficiency, but also for security and reliability. Multiple levels of redundancy ensure ongoing operation and service availability in even the harshest and most extreme of circumstances. This includes multiple levels of redundancy within a center, generator-powered back-up for ongoing operations, and full redundancy across multiple dispersed centers. State of the art controls are used to monitor the centers both locally and remotely, and automated failover systems are present to safeguard systems.

LOGICAL SECURITY

In web-based computing, the logical security of data and applications is as critical as physical security. Google uses a number of industry standard techniques as well as some unique, innovative approaches. One such approach is leveraging special purpose technology as opposed to general-purpose software.

Much of Google’s technology is written to provide special purpose capabilities as opposed to general purpose computing. For example, the web server layer is specially designed and implemented by Google to only expose the capabilities required for operation of specific applications. Therefore, it is not as vulnerable to the wide range attacks that most commercial software would be susceptible to. 

Google has also made modifications to core libraries for security purposes. Because the Google infrastructure is a dedicated application system rather than a general purpose computing platform, a number of the services provided by the standard Linux operating system can be limited or disabled. These modifications focus on enhancing the capabilites of the system needed for the task at hand and disabling or removing any exploitable aspects of the system that aren’t required.

Google’s servers are also protected by multiple levels of firewalls to protect against attacks. Traffic is inspected as appropriate for attempted attacks, and any attempts are dealt with to protect users’ data.

REDUNDANCY

The application and network architecture run by Google is designed fro maximum reliability and uptime. Google’s grid-based computing platform assumes ongoing hardware failure, and robust software failure withstands this disruption. All Google systems are inherently redundant by design, and each subsystem is not dependent on any particular physical or logical server for ongoing operation.

Data is replicated multiple times across Google’s clustered active servers, so, in the case of a machine failure, data will still be accessible through another system. In addition, user data is replicated across data centers. As a result, if an entire datacenter were to fail or to be involved in a disaster, a second datacenter would be able to immediately take over and provide services to users.

IS GOOGLE'S SECURITY EXPLANATION SUFFICIENT?
TAKE THE POLL AT THE START OF THE STORY!

February 27th, 2007

Web 2.0 one minute Social Network: Does size matter?

Posted by Donna Bogatin @ 10:41 am

Categories: Amateur Content, Facebook, MySpace, Social Media, Social Networking, Social Software, Social Web, User-Generated Content, Web 2.0

Tags:

“If a tree falls in a forest and no one hears it, does it make a sound?” the old saying asks.

I ASK: If you create your own social network and no one joins, do you exist?

Web 2.0 turnkey empowerment platforms lure with visions of instant social nirvana, for free and with no side effects!

The 1960’s Sex, Drugs and Rock 'n' Roll notions of “higher consciousness” often engendered risky and costly behaviors, for both society and individuals. 

Web 2.0 instant enlightenment may be the ultimate answer to the American self-evident “truth” of our unalienable right to “the pursuit of Happiness.”

Ning, co-founded by Marc Andreessen and Gina Bianchini, offers an unalienable right to Social Networking happiness, instantly and for free.

Ning V2 launches today and proudly declares the “perfect social network” platform to be “the “software equivalent of Home Depot.”

Why did Andreessen and Bianchini build Ning?:

To enable a diversity of social networks the same way the web browser enabled millions of different websites. 

How does Ning enable the creation of “Your Own Social Network”:

It's super easy! You can create your own social network in a few simple steps. 

It should take you all of about 1 minute to create a full social networking site that's ready for whatever you'd like your social network to be. 

Om Malik says Ning “has come up with what amounts to a 15-minute Social Network.” 

While Ning promises instant one-minute gratification, Malik’s 15 minutes may be more apropos though, as in Andy Warhol’s fifteen minutes of fame!

Malik notes, “The big challenge for Ning will be to get mass adoption, for upon that “adoption” hinges its business model.”

Yes, but user adoption of Ning’s turnkey social network platform is not the only adoption challenge. 

Given the appeal of a no-cost, start-your-own-social-network-in-one-minute Ning value proposition, the bigger adoption challenge will be for the instant Social Network lessees to spur adoption of their instant Social Networks! 

Malik: Ning will need thousands of social networks before it can join an elite network of start-ups of recent vintage that are profitable. 

BUT each of the thousands of social networks will then need to generate at least hundreds of social networkers!

Ning user “Frantz23” Social Network “Frantz23’s Wishlist” illustrates that while creating your own Social Network online may be free and easy thanks to Web 2.0, the platform is the easy part!

The “Frantz23’s Wishlist” Social Network is listed as one of the “popular networks on Ning,” but it does not appear to have generated any popularity.

The “Frantz23’s Wishlist” is in fact a lonely Social Network of One.

Perhaps Frantz23 needs to wish harder!

ALSO: WEB 2.0: DOES ‘OLD MEDIA' GET IT? and
John Edwards NOT Social Networking for ‘User Generated Politics’